January 4, 2020

The River



The River by Peter Heller
Fiction
2019 Halfred A. Knopf
Finished on January 2, 2020
Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

From the best-selling author of The Dog Stars, the story of two college friends on a wilderness canoe trip—a gripping novel of a friendship tested by fire, white water, and violence.

Wynn and Jack have been best friends since freshman orientation, bonded by their shared love of mountains, books, and fishing. Wynn is a gentle giant, a Vermont kid never happier than when his feet are in the water. Jack is more rugged, raised on a ranch in Colorado where sleeping under the stars and cooking on a fire came as naturally to him as breathing. When they decide to canoe the Maskwa River in northern Canada, they anticipate long days of leisurely paddling and picking blueberries, and nights of stargazing and reading paperback Westerns. But a wildfire making its way across the forest adds unexpected urgency to the journey. When they hear a man and woman arguing on the fog-shrouded riverbank and decide to warn them about the fire, their search for the pair turns up nothing and no one. But: The next day a man appears on the river, paddling alone. Is this the man they heard? And, if he is, where is the woman? From this charged beginning, master storyteller Peter Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding tale of desperate wilderness survival.

Wow! What a great way to start off the New Year (and new decade). Peter Heller's latest novel is outstanding! I've only read one other by him (The Dog Stars, reviewed here), but I love his beautiful prose and had a strong feeling that The River would also be a winner. I wasn't disappointed.
The cadence of the paddle strokes was high and it hurt after a couple of hours and so they weren't thinking about a lot. Jack had pored over the map and there would be a few riffles and smaller rapids and nothing to portage for two days, so he was at a loss as to where to expect the next attack. They had passed a wide cove with a pair of loons, one was probably nested nearby, and when they stroked past, the one closest tilted back her head and loosed a pitched wail that must have moved the trees like wind. It pierced the haze and echoed off the waiting forest and rolled over the water like any scream, and it seemed to carry a pathos so deep it was a wonder a mere world could support it. Maybe she knew what was coming. Maybe she had hatchlings in a nest and nowhere to go and she knew.
and
What he loved about poetry: it could do in a few seconds what a novel did in days. A painting could be like that, too, and a sculpture. But sometimes you wanted something to take days and days.
and 
"The biggest fires. They talk, just like this. Listen."
They listened. Who knew how far off. Not close enough yet to crown the wall of woods with light. There were other sounds: turbines and the sudden shear of a strafing plane, a thousand thumping hooves in cavalcade, the clamor and thud of shields clashing, the swell applause of multitudes drowned out as if by gusts of rain. Rain. Downpours. Washing through a valley and funneling over a pass. Crackling through woods and sodding over the tundra. Wynn closed his eyes and could swear he heard the sweep of a coming rainstorm. As if the fire in its fury could speak in tongues, could speak the language of every enemy. And sing, too. Over the rush, very faint, was a high-pitched thrum, a humming of air that rose and fell almost in melody.
Wynn walked to the water. He peered into the dark. Between the tall trees on either bank was a swatch of stars, a river of constellations that flowed heedless and unperturbed. Between the brightest, needling the arm of Orion and the head of the Bull, were distances of fainter stars that formed, as Wynn stared, a deep current, uninterrupted, as infused with bubbles of light as the aerated water of a rapid. Except that he could see into it and through it and it held fathomless dimensions that were as void of emotion as they were infinite. And if that river flowed, that firmament, it flowed with a majestic stillness. Nothing had ever been so still. Could spirit live there? In such a cold and silent purity of distance? Maybe it was silent at all. Maybe in the fires that consumed those stars were decibeled cyclones and trumpets and applause.
and
He heard a loon call, piercing and forlorn, and it poured into his spirit like cool water. It was a sad cry and he realized as he listened how barren the river had felt in the days without it. Why was a wail that seemed so lost and lonely so... what? Essential and lovely. It was like the blues, he guessed, or like Jack's cowboy songs. Sad, but somehow you would starve without them.
The story is extremely intense and each night I had to force myself to stop reading and go to sleep. The River is one of those books that makes me wish I was still a bookseller at Barnes and Noble. I would have enjoyed sharing my passion for the book, handselling it to customers looking for that perfect gift this past holiday season. I'm not a fisherman, or for that matter a firefighter, but I found myself thinking of several friends who either fish or fight fires (and a couple who do both) and know they would love this novel. I also thought of some who enjoy kayaking and thought of them as I raced through this book. And yet, this is not just a book about paddling a canoe or fly fishing. It's about the beauty of nature and a deep friendship, both of which are so vividly drawn that I felt as if I was sharing their canoe or camped out under the same stars they gazed upon. There is so much to admire about this moving, lyrical novel and I'm not only eager to read his other two (The Painter and Celine), but I look forward to rereading The Dog Stars

23 comments:

  1. I've got this one on my Kindle and hope to read it before long. I was watching to see what you thought about it. Anne Bogel praised it highly on her podcast. I will say that I am finding that when she mentions various books, I usually at least do a bit of research to see if it might suit me. Dare I say that she might be broadening my reading world. LOL

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    1. I'm going to have to start listening to Anne Bogel's podcast! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did, Kay. I have a feeling it's one that I'll be thinking about for quite a while.

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  2. This book sounds amazing. Thanks for your great review and also letting the book “speak for itself” with all those fantastic excerpts. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for a copy of this one!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, Megan. I hope you enjoy this book as much as my husband and I did. Peter Heller is a marvelous writer!

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  3. The lines you shared are beautiful and I can tell you loved this book so it's going on my wish list. It sounds fabulous!

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    1. Thanks, Kathy. It's a remarkable story. I love Heller's writing!

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  4. I liked this a lot and had a feeling an outdoorsy person like you would really love it as well.

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    1. Diane, it almost makes me want to get in a canoe and head up a river!

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  5. It's time to add Peter Heller to my list... this sounds great! Kay is right -you should definitely give Anne Bogel's podcast a try.

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    1. JoAnn, have you read anything by William Kent Krueger? Heller's lyrical prose reminds me of Krueger's. There's an element of mystery within the story and I could have easily shared a dozen more passages. OK, I'll try to make time for Bogel's podcast. Now that I have more time to listen to audio books, I'm sure I can squeeze in a podcast or two.

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    2. Les - Yes...I read Ordinary Grace with my book club and loved it! Another reason to try Heller.

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  6. Well, I love kayaking, and I love wilderness...but I'm not sure the intensity of this novel is for me! However, I will have Eric read it first. I think it's one he would like.

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    1. Laurel, my husband just finished it and thought it was very good. Let me know how Eric likes it!

      BTW, I love that we are chatting about books. What's currently on your nightstand?

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  7. When you have to force yourself to stop reading, you know you are on to a good thing! Thanks for this review!

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    1. It's a sure sign of a great book, Jenclair! Glad you enjoyed the review.

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  8. I love your enthusiasm for this one! I will have to get it from our library when my Japanese Literature Challenge is done. In March.

    Let me know how you feel about The Convenience Store Woman when you finished? xo

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    1. I thought of you while I was reading this, Meredith. As I recall, you enjoy canoeing when you're at the lake, right? It's quite a poetic tale.

      I'll keep you posted about TCSW. I may have another Japanese book to read, so I'll join in on your challenge. :)

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    2. It would thrill me if you would join in the Japanese Literature Challenge 13! I will add your name to the review site list of participants, but please don’t let that bog you down. Xo

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  9. I admit this one wasn't on my radar because I didn't think I would enjoy this but reading your review and the passages you've shared definitely makes me reconsider!

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    1. Iliana, if you haven't read anything by Peter Heller, I strongly recommend this and The Dog Stars. He is an amazing writer.

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  10. I am absolutely caught up in this novel. The writing is incredible, the atmosphere palatable. I am only one third of the way through, but I agree with all you said here. Do you think it will win the Edgar Award? I only have one more book to read of the five that were nominated for Best Novel (Smoke and Ashes), but so far I think this is my favorite. Even though I couldn’t escape images of Deliverance as I read, with that horribly creepy mood that grabs you.

    Maybe part of why we like it, too, is that there are canoes and woods and lakes and rivers and I can feel what it is like there. The Northwoods is one of my favorite places in all of America, and I know we are both passionate about being outside/camping like that.

    Oh, and when his mother died early on...I could hardly bear it!

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    1. I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying this book! I knew you would. Yes, the writing is very atmospheric. He's such a great storyteller. And, yes. Deliverance came to mind on more than one occasion. Creepy! So much emotion in this book. I wonder what it would be like to hear the audio. I will probably give it a listen in a year or so since I rarely take the time to reread print books. This one is certainly worthy of a second reading. I agree with your thoughts about canoes, woods, lakes and rivers. I long to get out on the water and paddle; it's been so long!

      Thank you for your lovely comment, Meredith. I'm just thrilled we both loved this book so deeply.

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